Trends ofgentian
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gentian
(dʒenʃən)
Word forms: plural gentians
countable noun
A gentian is a small plant with a blue or purple flower shaped like a bell which grows in mountain regions.
gentian in British English
(ˈdʒɛnʃən)
noun
1.
any gentianaceous plant of the genera Gentiana or Gentianella, having blue, yellow, white, or red showy flowers
2.
the bitter-tasting dried rhizome and roots of Gentiana lutea (European or yellow gentian), which can be used as a tonic
3.
any of several similar plants, such as the horse gentian
Word origin
C14: from Latin gentiāna; perhaps named after Gentius, a second-century bc Illyrian king, reputedly the first to use it medicinallygentian in American English
(ˈdʒɛnʃən)
adjective
1.
designating a family (Gentianaceae, order Gentianales) of dicotyledonous plants, including thefringed gentians and the closed gentians
noun
2.
any of a large genus (Gentiana) of plants of the gentian family, with blue, white, red, or yellow flowers
3.
the bitter root of the yellow gentian (G. lutea), used as a gastrointestinal tonic
Word origin
ME genciane < OFr gentiane < L gentiana, of Illyrian orig.Image ofgentian
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